04/16/2025

Colossal Squid Filmed in Deep Ocean for the First Time

The incredible footage is 100 years in the making

In the darkness of the South Atlantic Ocean, researchers captured for the first time footage of a live colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni). And while the elusive creature is known for its size—reaching lengths of 23 feet—this one is a baby and only one foot long.

In 1925, fisherman first found the remains of a colossal squid inside a sperm whale. Over the next century, only eight adult colossal squids have been found, all postmortem.

"It's exciting to see the first in situ footage of a juvenile colossal and humbling to think that they have no idea that humans exist," Dr. Kat Bolstad of the Auckland University of Technology, an independent scientific expert who was consulted to verify the footage, said in a statement. "For 100 years, we have mainly encountered them as prey remains in whale and seabird stomachs and as predators of harvested toothfish."

Please select this link to read the complete article from Popular Science.